What’s the scoop on Paige Simpson, the “car wrangler” on SPEED’s Pass Time? They may have some beautiful cars, but she has my vote.—Dan Ruess, West Liberty, Iowa

You aren’t the only one who thinks Simpson is worth watching. The joke around the show is that she is the Vanna White of Pass Time—and since she began modeling when she was 16 years old, it may not be far off the mark.

Simpson, now 26, was attending the University of South Florida, studying journalism, when a friend recommended her for the job, figuring with her experience, she would be a natural.

“I went out there and met with Ray Eddings and Rick Christenson, who at the time was producing our show in Bradenton [Fla.], and the next day we started shooting, so it was pretty surreal for me,” she recalls. But she makes sure to add, “I love the cars, but I have to say [my favorite thing is] the people that I meet.”<

She still owns her very first car—a 1998 red Mustang that her father bought for her—and today splits her time between homes in Georgia and Florida while working on the ninth season of Pass Time.<

What sparked an interest in vehicles in the former cheerleader and member of Alpha Delta Phi? “My grandfather restores old cars,” she says. “He has a white 1963 Studebaker Avanti that wins every car show he goes to. I joke with him that when he shows up, the other guys get mad because he always wins.”